


the creaking

by justinsbuzz



Series: Everything Changes, Everything Stays arc [2]
Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Gen, Halloween, light horror story
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-31
Updated: 2018-10-31
Packaged: 2019-08-11 13:12:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,890
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16476212
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/justinsbuzz/pseuds/justinsbuzz
Summary: a month of psychological nightmares, disturbing creaking sounds, and odd objects being things to a standstill one fall evening. old ghosts come back from the past, and all steven, amethyst, and pearl can do is meet it head on.





	the creaking

**Author's Note:**

> Right. So. This month was absolutely miserable for me. between tough college classes, things happening at home, and things beyond my control, i can definitely say that this really isn't my A-game. it's not bad, but i doubt this will give anyone the creeps for Halloween. but i can say that this could be a prelude to something bigger down the line.

The creaking.

 

Steven can see the deep red skyline as he stood on the metal platform of the ship. His friends, family, and those he’s closest too thrash away in the ocean below him.

‘no. not this again.’ Steven franticly thought to himself. ‘any dream but this. ANY AT ALL!’

This memory was one of the most painful ones in the back of his mind. And it keeps playing in his head over and over again, to the point that it torments him every night as he attempts to go to sleep.

“COME DOWN FROM THERE STEVEN!” Steven could hear Connie yell from the water.

“I’ll kick your butt if you don’t come down from there Steven!” Amethyst roared.

Stevens legs were welded to the platform. He couldn’t move. He was stuck there, in a point in time where he would have given anything to change the way things went down. Tears welled in his eyes as he sees those he loved in the water.

“I…. I cant. I can’t move! Please! Please…. not this again.” Steven yelled out to them. His feet shuffled backwards into the ship. His body had betrayed him in favor of a dark and menacing point in time. He turned back and saw Connie in the water.

“I love you……save me!” he murmured, but then yelled out to a Connie who had a furious and disappointed look on her soaked face. The door shut, and it was dark again. Steven knew what was to happen next. The din of explosions, and the sound of running. His eyes barely opened to the sight of dust and smoke everywhere. He was attempting to walk, with the help of amethyst, who turned into the purple puma. He saw Connie leading the way, and attacking anyone who chose to get in their way. All of this death and destruction around him. Gems, merely a few yards away, being shattered by robinoids everywhere.

“I…. I caused all of this. I just wanted to cure…. Cure the corruption. It’s….” Steven muttered to himself.

“Do NOT talk like that, Steven!” Connie yelled out to him, as she used a sword she found on the ground to clear a path through the chaos. Between foes, she yelled “We’re going to make it! We’re going to fight, and we’re going to save you.”

“Don’t worry Ste-man. Just keep the shield up.” Amethyst told him, before sucker punching a Aquamarine who though she could sneak up on them. “Just keep that shield up, and we’re home free. None of this is you. It’s White Diamond. None of this is you!”  
Steven passed out again, and the din of chaos had silenced itself. He opened his eyes once more to the sight of Roses room. But instead of bright pink skies and puffy clouds, it was dark. The sky was pitch black, and the puffy clouds were smoke and fog. The air grew chilly. Steven knew what was next for him. Most of the time, he would have awoken around the time of the ship doors closing. But on the worst nights, where he can’t wake up, he has to come in contact with something. A ghost, or some dark entity, that lurked in the room with him. 

Suddenly, a faint whisper is heard behind him. 

“ste….ven.” the faint whisper hissed into his ear, like a corrupted gem attempting to speak. “ste….ven.”

Steven shuts his eyes as well as he could. “No. No, no, no, no. Not this again. Not her.” Steven spoke to himself. All of the sudden, he felt his legs, just like before, moving against the will of the being they belong to. Steven used all of his strength to stay put, but it was hopeless. His legs, his torso, his head, all of it was no longer his, but now at the will of an unseen malicious puppet master. He knew what was next, but he still kept his eyes closed. He took an unwilling step forward. Then another. Then another. He kept his eyes shut so tightly, he felt as though his eyeballs were being crushed. As futile as it seemed, be tried his best. He suddenly stopped. His gut churned as he felt his eyes being forced open with something that felt like tiny hands. It was dark still. But he could make out objects in front of him. Despite the darkness, what was before him was as clear to him as it was if it were daylight. The shape that stood before him was something that looked like a blanket, or someone wearing a cape. He knew he was right because he’s had this dream before, or at least he stayed asleep to this point. This one point in the nightmare that Steven has had before.

“steven?” the figure whispered as it had its back to him. “ steven….why? why?”

The person started to silently whimper from under the hood. He knew what was to come of this moment. But even then, knowing what will happen is sometimes more terrifying than not knowing at all. Nothing could prepare him for this, no mattered how many times he’s been through this. His arm reluctantly rose as it layed a hand on the figures shoulders. He remembered this feeling. He remembered her.  
The hood fell from her head, revealing long, deep brown, and puffy hair. It smelled of lavender. It smelled familiar.

“why….why did…” the figure spoke, still facing away from Steven, as he took one more step closer, and put his other hand on the entity’s remaining shoulder. He knew what was next, no matter how badly he wanted to be something else.

“Connie…” Steven whispered.  
Swiftly, the entities head spun a swift 180 degrees backwards, with the hair whipping him harshly. He staired into the soulless black eyes of a gaunt looking Connie. Her teeth were fanglike, and her face scared.

“WHY DID YOU LEAVE ME!!!!!” the entity roared at Steven, with a deep guttural roar.

Steven shot upwards from his bed. His heart was pounding, face covered in cold sweat, and hyperventilating badly. His hand clutched his pajamas tightly as to try to keep his beating heart from ripping through his chest. When he did this, he felt that there was something already in his hand. Cautiously, he moved his hand and looked down to see a strange, smooth stone. It looked to be as though it was a well-polished piece of obsidian. But it felt strange. It looked softer than it felt. An oval piece of stone, almost the size of the width of his palm. His eyes were still trying to adjust. Without notice, the strange object in his hand rolled upwards, over his hand, and seemed to have made a b-line to the door, as though something was guiding it. Once it reached the door, it had opened, by way of Amethyst and Greg barging in. The gem scurried out of sight. That only made Steven feel more unnerved.

“Steven! Steven! Are you alright?!” Greg asked Steven in a panic. Amethyst seemed to have wanted to ask the same thing, but Greg beat her to the punch. Steven was still trying to catch his breath. 

“Steven?” Amethyst asked after a few moments. They both looked highly concerned. Steven looked up at them.

“Did… Did either of you see that?” Steven croaked, still trying to shake out the cobwebs, as well as the face of the entity howling at him. “It was a…” Steven had trailed off, knowing that they couldn’t have possibly have seen the object. “I’m ok. Just-”

“Another nightmare?” Both Amethyst and Greg cut Steven off. They both still looked worried, but this was almost like clockwork. Amethyst made room at the foot of the bed while his dad sat at the edge of Steven’s bed.

“Dude. This is the 3rd time this week, and also it’s been happening almost 10 times now, Steven.” Amethyst groaned in frustration. “Lemme guess; same space ship, same chaotic streets of Homeworld, and same demon Connie who wants to eat your eyeballs?”

“Yes, yes, and I didn’t get the chance to ask if she wanted to eat my eyeballs, or if she just wants to rip me apart for everything that’s-” Steven started to fully answer Amethysts question before stopping himself from going back into the hole of guilt that he’s been trying to fill in and get rid of. “It’s nothing.”

“Steven. None of any of this was your doing. Except the ship part…” Greg said, accidentally slipping out the last part of the sentence. Amethyst darted a squinted glare at Greg, ultimately leading to his shoes to be filled with ice cream one morning in the future.

“What he’s meaning to say is that you got to let go, man” Amethyst reassured him. “it’s all in the past, and also, I already kicked your butt at two video games, 3 arcade games, and a few sparring sessions where I laid you out like a fleshy bath towel. We’re squared.”

Steven remembers all of that happening in a week he would care to forget.

“I don’t think that’s it though. Everything seemed ok for a while. Even when I got back from Homeworld with the gems.” Steven spoke while thinking carefully, blotting out the image of his dream “When I was sleeping over at Connie’s house, there were no nightmares. These things just started nearly a month ago- “

He was interrupted with the sound of creaking coming from the rafters outside his room. It’s been really unnerving to hear them. Even when he and Connie tried to study at his house in the afternoon, it’s almost as bad then. Or maybe somewhat worse. Greg and Amethyst look up to where the sound was coming from. They both left Stevens room to investigate it, with Steven in tow. 

The rafters looked normal. There wasn’t any gems sleeping up there, or anything that would cause it to creak.

“It’s…just new house sounds.” Greg said nervously. “Wood just resting into place.”

“For a month? Geez, where’s Pearl when you need her? Or freaking Garnet?” Amethyst said frustrated at their constant state of absence. “I’d get the F’amethyst to help me out tomorrow, if it weren’t for the fact that they can get a little rowdy, even for me.”

“Maybe Doug can help.” Greg said.

“Isn't he busy with the watch guard duties at the light house? Or even at Funland?” Steven asked.

“Well…..” Greg began to say.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ever since the move, the Maheswaran’s have been adjusting to life in Beach city with some minor complications. Priyanka’s job as Beach City’s only doctor had been less than exciting, since there’s only a hand full of people living there. Even her old life-guard job has been slow. The clinic runs mostly on City funds, so she doesn’t really have to worry about a steady flow of sick and injured people. But at the same time, It’s just been a lot less exciting or fast pace as she thought it would be. On the bright side though, her card house making skills are improving, and she basically could do house calls, via riding a new bike with all the medical equipment she’ll need.

Doug, on the other hand, has been even more surreal. If he isn’t maintaining alien gem technology that monitors nearly all the space above Beach City all the way to the moon, he’s working part time at ‘Funland’. Most of the time there, he’s walking around with a fire extinguisher in case Onion tries his hand at fire eating again. Some days, it’s a spectacle of trying to make sure nothing catches fire, which happens more often than not in Beach City, and mostly around ‘Funland’. But most of the time, he’s mainly at the light house, reading ‘Unfamiliar Familiar’ for the 5th time.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Steven, after taking it all in, agreed to asking Doug for some help, as long as he’s wearing some form of safety harness, and having a couple Amethyst to be there to catch his fall.

The next day was spent checking and rechecking all the wooden floor boards in the house, as well as the wooden rafter joints. Through the top window, Blue Diamond sat and watched through the window with a healthy amount of curiosity. This made Doug feel a little uneasy, which would be why the safety harness and Amethysts came into use multiple times. To the Amethysts, it was kind of fun. Greg was still trying to get along with Blue Diamond, the very person who put him in a zoo, as well as Blue Diamond trying to get along with someone who had kind of wooed Pink Diamond into giving up her form. All that mattered though is that they’re trying, with some progress.  
After many hours of inspection, it was finally confirmed.

“Well, its official.” Doug said, putting away a pair of work gloves. “Your house is better than ours. But only by a little.”

“I’m not sure that was the goal here.” Greg said “There’s been some really weird creaking going on here. Like, REALLY weird.”

Doug paused for a moment to look at Greg. He also took one last look around the place, and his eyes rested on Steven.

“I don’t think it’s the house though. Any place that could creak had been fixed before you moved in.” Doug said. “Maybe, it might be one of the gems? Where’s Garnet?”

“She’s…..kind of missing. Maybe on a honeymoon? Or a vacation?” Steven tried to answer logically, but it didn’t work.

“For 2 months?” Greg, Doug, Amethyst, and 2 members of the F’amethysts replied in perfect unison.

“Well…..you guys got any ideas?” Steven said slightly frustrated.

Everyone looked somewhat guilty at the reality that they had no clue as to why Garnet’s been gone for so long, or why Pearl’s gone as well. Without Pearl, Connie’s been struggling with classes, and getting a B on a test for the first time since third grade. And without Garnet, things wouldn’t be so weird. She would catch onto anything amiss before something amiss would happen.

“I don’t know what to say guys.” Doug said, grabbing his gear. “Whatever the creaking is, it’s definitely not the house.” 

Doug walked out of the house looking as concerned as everyone else. None of this is normal. Loud creaking, the constant nightmares. And waking up to find a gem Steven had never seen before in his hand. Nothing about this is remotely close to normal, even by Steven’s standards. Steven looked out the window where Blue Diamond was picking up Doug and placing him on the hill where the lighthouse was. That’s when it hit him. Steven ran out to the front deck of the house and looked up and Blue Diamond.

“Aunt Blue! Aunt Blue!” Steven yelled, while realizing how strange it sounded. He had toyed around with the idea of calling the Diamonds his aunts. Might not happen again in the future. Blue Diamond swiftly looked down from putting Doug up, and nearly dove right into the sand to pay as much attention to Steven as she can.

“What’s wrong, Steven? Are you ok? Are you having those dreaded nightmares again?” Blue asked urgently, like a mother tending to a young child.

“I’m ok. It’s just- wait, how did you know about me having nightmares?” Steven asked inquisitively. Blue looked nervous. A rare thing to see in a Diamond.

“Um, well, I. um.” Blue tried to think of a proper excuse, but gave in to telling the truth. “I, kind of, sort of…. watch you sleep. Sometimes. A lot. YOUR PEARL HAS BEEN NEGLECTING HER DUTIES!!!”  
A window opened up from the top of the house, with Pearls head sticking out.

“I’ve been doing my duties just fine thank you very much!” Pearl yelled back at a very surprised Blue. Steven looked up top at the open window.

“Pearl!?” Steven yelled up to the open window. Pearl had been caught. She now has a lot to explain. Or at least she did before swiftly closing the window.

“Blue, can you take me up to that window? Please?” Steven said, with large puppy dog eyes. Blue calmly obliged, never missing a chance to do something for her lil’ Pink Diamond.

Steven opened the window before Pearl had a chance to lock it. She sprung back to the corner of a room Steven never noticed before. It was somewhat lit by a couple of sky lights. There was a mirror in the corner, and a painters easel in the other. Drawings of birds and the ocean from the window were pinned to different parts of the room. One looking more lifelike, but also more emotional, than the last. Pearl, sitting in the furthest corner of the room, had her hands buried in her lap. She was shaking.

“Pearl?” Steven whispered to her. He gently walked towards her as she peered over her knees. “Talk to me. Why are you hiding? Did I do something wrong? Is it about… Homeworld?”

“No… it’s… everything. Everything I’ve done. Keeping that secret from everyone, and then watching everything fall away because of the request of one… just someone who didn’t have the foresight to understand her actions.” Pearl whispered back to Steven. “Steven. You didn’t do anything wrong. You’re a part of Rose. Or she’s part of you. I don’t know. None of it made sense to me. And because of that, I failed.”

Steven ended up inching closer to Pearl to where he’s sitting on the ground right next to her.

“You didn’t fail. I did. I’m suppose to have lived up to her expectations. To be able to fill her shoes.” Steven said

“Your mom…. she never liked shoes.” Pearl whispered. Steven smiled at her, knowing that there was some humor in her. “I failed also because I never should have pushed you to live up to her expectations. I still felt as though she was somewhere inside you. That… my Diamond was somewhere in there. And without her, I felt lost. Confused. I tried to turn you into her. And after seeing homeworld for what it became, I felt like I finally lost the one piece of her that existed. Shattered by that… that clod!”

Pearl shouted the last part like Peridot would have. A small smile was shown on her face as she looked down at an amused, but still somewhat concerned look on Steven’s face.

“Pearl. You… you respected my mom’s last wish as a Diamond. You didn’t really fail. You didn’t make things perfect. But when something goes wrong, you’re there to make things right. That’s who you are.” Steven told Pearl as he sat closer to her, almost resting his head on her shoulder. “I know it hurts. Trying to learn to let it go. And it will take time. And sometimes you need time for yourself. But you shouldn’t have to hide away. Sometimes you need space, and sometimes you need to be close.”

Tears began to well up in both their eyes for unclear reasons.

“But Pearl. I need you. Right now I do. Things are going on inside the house. Creaking. Doors locking themselves. Waking up with a weird black rock in my hand. It needs to stop. Help me. Please Pearl.” Steven pleaded to Pearl, who had a shocked look on her face. She’s somewhat pale most of the time, but now, she’s almost like the paper she uses to draw on.

“Did…did you say ‘weird black rock’, Steven?” Pearl muttered to steven.

“Um, yeah. Nearly the size of my palm. Black. Oval, looks softer than it actually feels. Kind of looks like-“ Steven stopped in mid-sentence when Pearls eyes widened.

“Obsidian” Pearl stated bluntly. 

“um, yeah. That.” Steven said. “It happened last night when I woke up from a nightmare. It was in my hand for a few moments, then it just jumped out and rolled awa-“ Steven was interrupted again when Pearl marched to window. She swung it open to the view of Blue Diamonds eye pearing through it, as though it was an old key hole.

“OBSIDIAN!” Pearl yelled at Blue Diamond. Project; OBSIDIAN! YOU WENT THROUGH ON THAT NIGHTMARE!”

Pearls face had the look of a predatory bird, ready to sink her claws into something both soft, and close.

“Obsidian? No. No, that was canceled! I made sure of it! Everything was destroyed, even the station it was on. OBSIDIAN DOESN’T EXIST!” Blue yelled back at her.

“Guys! GUYS! WHAT IS OBSIDIAN!” Steven yelled while going in between Pearl and Blue Diamond. The house was finally rebuilt, and Steven didn’t feel like sleeping on an island for another 2 weeks. Moments later, Blue, Steven, and Pearl were sitting on the beach near the house. Steven sat between the two of them to make sure no one tries to shatter or claw the other.

“Steven. Obsidian was-” Pearl began to speak, but was stopped by Blue Diamond clearing her throat.

“I should tell him. It’s my mess after all.” Blue Diamond said as softly as she could. Pearl turned her head and grumbled underneath her breath about wanting to clean up someone.

“Steven. Project Obsidian was… a mistake. As you may know, the Diamonds had colonized many world. Some of them were inhabited by somewhat advanced species. And some were inhabited by not-so-advanced ones. Some of those worlds had…” Blue Diamond tried to finish the sentence, but knew there was no way to mince any words when it came to this topic. “Project Obsidian was a plan to design a Gem to be able to control people’s minds. It was to minimalize casualties, and ease the trouble of trying to relocate certain being.”

“Oh. Blue? How did THAT wonderful idea turn out?” Pearl chimed in while watching a small crab crawl along the sand. 

Steven can almost feel the ground tremble literally at Blue Diamonds feet.

“Pearl? The heck?” Steven spoke frustratingly at a mildly preoccupied Pearl. “Sorry Aunt Blue. Continue.”

Steven almost heard Pearl asking under her breath “Aunt Blue?”

“As I was saying, before some rude birds started squawking for no reason. The Project prove to be both counterproductive, and very harmful to organic life. Cases of insanity, chaos, it was just wrong. All of it.” Blue Diamond stated briefly. “I was the one that came up with an idea to quell organic populations so that they can be safely removed to other worlds. But someone working on the project brought forth the idea of wanting to use the Obsidian gem to control and enslave people. As mildly interesting as the idea seemed to be, it was too outlandish and too dangerous of a project.”

Blue looked out at the blue ocean with a tear in her eye.

“I put an end to that nightmare. I had the computers wiped, and the station scuttled into the nearest star. It doesn’t exist.” Blue said flatly.

“But, what if it did?” Pearl asked with a low tone. “What if one of those pesky little Aquamarines or Peridots working on the station took a prototype back to homeworld and pitched the idea to White Diamond?”

Blue Diamond looked at Pearl with a shocked look on her face.

“You and I both know that White Diamond wasn’t the most flawless, let alone completely uncracked.” Pearl continued with the same monotone voice, but stood up. “But you have to admit that an idea like Obsidian, instant workers and slaves using the very population of the planet, would be something right up her alley.”

“Pearl… are you saying that-” Blue started to speak, but was cut off.

“White Diamond has someone working in our midst? And Steven is the prime target? Yes, I am!” Pearl yelled at Blue. Blue looked completely shocked to the point that she stood up and ran across the shoreline to the cave near the cliffs.

“PEARL! Come on! We needed her help!” Steven yelled frustratingly at Pearl. Pearl put a smirk on her face.

“We don’t need her, Steven. We can take care of this on our own.” Pearl spoke. She knelt down to meet Steven’s gaze and put a hand on his shoulder. “Steven, she made the mess. But I can make it right.”

Pearl was then somewhat taken aback when she realized the Steven was taller than she remembered. By about 4 inches.

“When did this happen?” Pearl said, completely puzzled.

“Island vacation. Nearly died by way of gem jellyfish, soaked in mom’s fountain for a bit. kissed Connie though.” Steven answered. 

Pearl was mildly amused.

That night, a plan was hatched to catch whomever was behind the nightmares, the creaking, and the mysterious stone. The plan was, more or less, just do nothing. Steven laid there, staring at the ceiling. His confidence in whatever plan there was had floated away, leaving behind the image of the obsidian, and the face that haunted his nightmares for over a month. How could he sleep, knowing that there seemed to be no plan at all. It was frustrating for him, waiting for the nightmare to come. Steven continued to stair at the ceiling, pondering about what could happen if they find the person who brought the obsidian stone to earth. A traitor among the fleeing rebels from a dying world. Would they just be as unhinged as White Diamond was?

Steven wasn’t sure how it happened, but it did. At one moment, he was staring at the wooden ceiling and skylight of his bedroom to the red skyline over the ocean, as he’s standing on the platform of the floating ship. It was this again. Steven starred at the water, like he did before, at those who he loved the most, friends, family. But it was different. Amethyst was shouting something different.

“Don’t worry about this Steven! You’re dreaming! NONE OF THIS IS REAL!” Amethyst shouted at Steven. Was it possible for Amethyst to enter Stevens dream as easy as it is for him to enter others? Suddenly, Amethyst turned into a large dog-copter, and bit down on the ship’s platform, preventing it from closing. 

In a moment, things seem to be changing for the better, but Steven began to slip off of the ships door and into the water. He still had no control over his legs or his body. He was falling. The people who were in the water originally had turned into life saver rings. But before Steven hit the water, he woke up to the sight of something small leaving the room. The stone was in his hand, with what looked to be claws grabbing onto his hand. Steven then flung the stone at the wall, where it bounced off and landed on the floor. The claws that came from the gem helped it scurry across the floor and under the door. Pearl, who had been in the closet with Amethyst, leapt out and ran through the door, with Steven in tow. The house began to creak again, but this time, it was visible. The walls, the wood, they bent towards the obsidian stone, and went back to their normal shape. The power this gem had was capable of warping everything, just by it’s presence alone. The Gem leaped down from the banister, overlooking the foyer and living room, and landed in the center of the floor. Pearl and Amethyst leapt as well, while Steven gave a quick pause, but jumped all the same. Then the gem landed, it looked as though it’s claws grew longer and thicker, almost looking like limbs. This caused it to scurry faster, and taking on more distance, but at the same time, it’s too big to crawl under doors.

Pearl went for the main door to lock it, while Amethyst and Steven chased after the gem, which went from the size of a cat, to the size of a small child. It no longer could scurry, but run just as fast. Steven and Amethyst chased the gem to the door of the gems room. It clawed away at the door before leaping out of the way. Steven came close a few times, but the gem wiggled out of his grasp. The gem was no longer a gem, but an entity. Dark, without actual colors, total absence of light. It began to take the shape of a human being. The entity leapt up to the rafters. Steven followed from behind. The entity leaped from one beam to another, as though it was toying with him. The entity ended up gaining more form, when it looked as though it was wearing a cloak that was appearing out of thin air. This inky black entity is becoming something that Steven was afraid of. A demonic form of Cloud Connie, the entity he and Connie fought against years ago. It was thought that she disappeared, but technically, she still maintained sentience.  
After leaping from one beam to another, it was clear that this was indeed the entity from his nightmares. The entity leapt down, landing on top of amethyst, and made another attempt to go to the door. It clawed away so vigorously that the door began to have scratch marks on it. Steven, Pearl, and Amethyst had it cornered, when suddenly, it began to whimper to itself.

“Ste…ven?” it whimpered quietly.

“Oh, nuh-huh. Nope, not that again! We’re not in my dreams now. And you are not Connie!” Steven said in a commanding voice.

“Con…nie?” It whimpered again, but saying a different name.

“Nope. Strike two!” Amethyst yelled at the entity.

“Who are you!? What are you?! Who do you answer to?!” Pearl yelled out at the whimpering entity.

“Ste…ven. Con…nie. Steven. Connie. Steven. Connie. Steven. Connie. Steven. Connie.” The entity began saying faster and faster. It’s head began to twitch under the hood.

“No. somethings wrong.” Steven said, signaling to the others to stay back. He walked forward a few steps.

“Steven? What the heck are you doing?!” Amethyst called out to him.

“Stop Steven! We don’t know what that thing is. It could kill you!” Pearl called out.

Despite Steven’s direction, they slowly followed him as he closed in on the entity. Just like his dreams. But this time, he’s moving on his own. He approached the entity, with merely a foot in between the two. The entity stopped shaking, and stopped talking.

“Listen. I know you know who did this. Who’s behind bringing you here. And who’s calling the shots. Or maybe, you have no clue as to what’s going on. But please. Let’s just talk.” Steven told the entity reassuringly. Both Pearl and Amethyst looked at each other, knowing it was going to be one of those things that might get Steven killed faster than he could think. Amethyst prepped her whips, while Pearl pulled out another spear from her gem.

It was quiet for what seemed to be hours, but was only a minute, and nothing more.

“Talk?” the entity whispered.

“Yeah. Talk. No fighting, or trying to eat anyone’s eyeballs, or spinning their heads around. Just talk.” Steven said calmly.

“Talk about what?” The entity replied, sounding more like Connie than before, which threw everyone off balance.

“About why you’re here. What you’re doing. What’s going on?” Steven asked.

“You want to talk? Want to know what’s going on?” The entity spoke louder, sounding very much like Connie. The lights in the house were still off, so all they could see was a person, wearing a cloak.

“How about we talk about…. how you abandoned me….” The entity growled as it swung itself around and tackled Steven to the ground. Steven could see instantaneously what was under the cloak. It wasn’t the demonic entity that haunted his dreams, but the Cloud Connie he created years ago.

“I…. I….” Steven tried to find the words, but suddenly, Amethysts whips were wrapped around the entity. She then threw the entity around the room, and threw her at a stone wall, nearly hitting the kitchen. The entity didn’t poof. It, instead scurried around and found an opening to tackle Steven once more.

“Or how about throwing me against the wall!” It shrieked as it loomed over Steven. He couldn’t move while under her. “The room. The ocean. The wall! Everything you do, you do wrong!”

Pearl instantaneously kicked the entity to the other side of the room, while throwing he spears at her. Though her spears were fast, the entity was faster. Again, it found an opening and lunged at Steven once more, but was blocked by Stevens shield. The entity slid off and scurried to a corner, as it looked at everyone. Her face was clear as day. She looked exactly like Connie, except for her left eye. Her left eye was the obsidian gem that Steven had seen the night before. And it was cracked.

“Wait! Wait. It’s ok.” Steven reassured everyone, including the entity. Amethyst and Pearl saw the cracked gem as well, and turned in their weapons. This had turned into a rescue mission.

“Listen….um…. obsidian? your gem is cracked. Let me help you. Please. If you know me, if you’ve been in my dreams and my memories for a long time, then you know what I can do.” Steven calmly told the entity, whose name is apparently Obsidian, since it showed some interest in being called that. “Please, hold still.”

Steven approached Obsidian, who now seems to be more afraid of Steven than he was of her. Steven licked his hand, and gently, but awkwardly, placed it over her eye. Almost instantly, the crack healed itself, but also showed spots of white dots. They looked to be almost like snowflakes. Obsidian began to look calmer and more collected.

“Steven? I’m so-” Obsidian began to speak, until something heavy was thrown from the other side of the room, causing Obsidian to poof. Steven, Pearl, and Amethyst were shocked to see that it was a somewhat large stone that came from the second-floor faux bathroom.

“You know other people live here. Right?” Peridot spoke, with Lapis, and a couple smaller 3rd gen peridots staring downward on them. All of them shuffled back into the room where they came out of. Steven looked down at the obsidian gem, now with speckles of snow flake like spots on it. He bubbled it, and sent it to float above the living area.

“Maybe another time, we’ll talk to her.” Pearl said reassuringly.

“That’s our Steven. Trying to make friends out of literally anyone.” Amethyst said, putting an arm around him. “Well, for a gem that doesn’t need sleep, I need sleep.”

“yeah me too.” Steven added in. “And Pearl?”

“Yes Steven?” Pearl asked

“Do you think you could watch me sleep. I know I said not to. But, I guess I missed you.” Steven said sheepishly. “Want to have a sleepover?”

“I would like that.” Pearl replied

“WOOOOOOO! SLEEPOVER!!!” Amethyst yelled, followed by multiple rooms in the house telling them to keep it down.

From the outside, Blue diamond looked into the house to see if everything was ok. But she can’t help by feel if she made a mistake. If there was a loose end that needed to be tied up.

**Author's Note:**

> Next time (maybe): what was suppose to be a simple, small, birthday party might go sideways when a few uninvited guests decide to drop in on Connie's birthday.


End file.
